These spicy vegan Black Bean Burgers are perfect for a cookout! These are spicy and smoky with chipotle chili and cumin, and they have the goodness of brown rice, oats and walnuts cooked into them. Best of all, they hold together beautifully on the grill. Vegan, soy-free and gluten-free.
This Spicy Vegan Black Bean Burger is mouthwateringly yummy, packed with secretly healthy stuff, and hefty enough for the grill. In other words, it's the perfect burger for a cookout -- and it's good for you.
I have many vegan veggie burger recipes on the blog, and this one has been around for a while. This was a great recipe to begin with, but I've made some tweaks to it since I last shared it in 2010, by adding cumin and chipotle chili, which makes it not just smoky and spicy but totally tasty.
The black beans are not the only health stars in this Spicy Vegan Black Bean Burgers recipe. There are oats here, and brown rice (why use breadcrumbs?), and carrots, and walnuts. And you don't really need much fat at all to cook them -- in fact, coating your pan with a quick spray of oil is more than enough. Or you could just roast them without oil in a nonstick pan and make them free of all added fats.
11 ingredients for the best Vegan Black Bean Burgers:
- Black beans. Cook your own, if you'd rather, but I just opened a couple of cans.
- Cooked brown rice
- Rolled oats
- Walnuts. They add amazing crunch and texture
- Chipotle chili in adobo sauce. For flavor and smokiness.
- Cumin. More smokiness.
- Ketchup
- Cilantro
- Carrots
- Garlic powder
- Oil for cooking (any vegetable oil, including olive oil and avocado oil, is fine. If you're watching the weighing scales, or just want to eat less added oil, you can leave this out and roast your burgers on a nonstick skillet)
- Optional: Sesame seeds (for more crunch and healthfulness)'
- Salt and pepper
How to make Spicy Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- This recipe is quite foolproof, and everything comes together in the food processor. But be sure you add them in the order I list. If your food processor bowl can't hold all of the ingredients, process some of the ingredients first, then the rest, and mix everything together in a bowl.
- Start out by processing the nuts and the oats in the food processor. (Or you can finely mince them with a knife, but a food processor makes this so much easier.)
- Add the cumin, chipotle chili and adobo sauce, cilantro, cumin, carrots and garlic to the food processor, season with salt, give it a whir to mix.
- Finally add the beans and the rice. Process until you have a mixture that holds together when you press it into a ball in your fist.
- I like to make hefty burger patties with these, about three inches in diameter, and the recipe makes 10 of those. You could make smaller or bigger patties according to your preference.
- To shape your patties, pat them into discs using your palms and fingers, and make sure you smooth the edges with your fingers as you go along.
- Coat the bottom of a nonstick pan or cast iron skillet with oil and cook the burger patty for 4-5 minutes on each side until brown spots appear.
- You can make these burgers ahead and freeze them for later. Separate the burger patties with wax paper or parchment paper and store in an airtight freezer container or a bag with a zip top. You can throw them frozen on the grill.
- You can also bake them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then bake for about 25-30 minutes. Flip halfway through baking.
This time, I assembled my burgers with vegan mayo mixed with a spicy chili garlic sauce before layering on spinach or spring greens, tomatoes and avocado slices. Chipotle mayo would be great here too, and you can also layer on slices of onion or a tomato salsa. You can also serve these burgers topped with cole slaw or sauerkraut or pickles.
If you make this Black Bean Burger, be sure to let me know in the comments below, or take a photo and post on Instagram. Tag me @HolyCowVegan.
Enjoy the Fourth! And remember to keep your pets safe indoors during the fireworks.
More veggie burger recipes
- Quinoa and Bean Burger
- Vegan Bean and Oats Burger
- Vegan Beet Burger with Chipotle Cashew Hummus
- Vegan Kidney and Roasted Red Pepper Burger
- Vegan Chickpea Quinoa Burger
- Veggie Burgers for the Grill
Spicy Vegan Black Bean Burgers
Equipment
- Grater
Ingredients
- 30 oz canned black beans
- 1 cup rolled or instant oats
- ½ cup cooked brown rice
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup walnuts
- 1 cup carrots (grated)
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce with 1 teaspoon of the sauce (use more or less depending on your tolerance for heat)
- ¼ cup cilantro (minced)
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for cooking burgers, or use cooking spray)
Instructions
- Put the walnuts and oats in the processor and pulse until the nuts are broken down into small pieces but not powdery.
- Add the carrots, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, sesame seeds if using, and salt. Pulse to mix, then add the drained black beans, rice and ketchup. Process until the beans are broken into small bits and the mixture holds together when you form a ball with your fingers or fist.
- Form three-inch discs with the mixture. Cover a cast iron or nonstick skillet with oil and cook the burgers until brown and black spots appear on each side.
- Assemble the burgers with vegan mayo mixed with a spicy sauce like chili garlic sauce or sriracha, greens like spinach or lettuce, tomatoes, onions and avocados.
Misha
I can't wait to make these. I'm in the UK and will cook my own black beans. What would you suggest as the uncooked weight of beans for this recipe. I'll be using my InstantPot.
By the way, I'm so totally with you regarding the misspelling of Turmeric! 🙂
Vaishali
Hi Misha, it should be around 330 grams or 1 1/2 cups dried beans.
Lori
Hi, In your directions it says add garlic powder but I don't see that listed in the ingredients. How much do you add?
Lori
Vaishali
Added--1 tsp!
Bena Desai
Hello Vishali,
I am a resident of suburban Washington D.C and enjoy your recipes.Today I tried your black bean brown rice burgers and they turned out delicious.Everyone enjoyed them.Thank you.Bena Desai.
Maggie
This was delicious. The mixing order is useful, so the consistency is very good. I used 3 chipotle in adobe which were delicious. Not too spicy at all. I didn't use cilantro, which might have made it better for those who like it. I added some corn kernels.
I'm looking for the perfect burger where I can roll my up eyes up and say "scrumptious!" Maybe it's this one with some yet to be determined modifications, or maybe it's out there somewhere.
Melissa Mertens
This was delicious! Like Bomb delicious! Totally loved it and so did the other half. Saving to my favorites. Once again, I must thank you for feeding my family. Thank you!!
Vaishali
So happy you liked it!
Krithika
I made your channa masala burgers and rajma tandoori burgers recently and they were a huge hit! Grilled up beautifully and were so flavorful. Would like to try this next, but I don't have brown rice on hand. Could I use quinoa instead?
Vaishali
Quinoa should be fine. If you have trouble making them hold together, add some chickpea flour.
Tita Mahoney
I belong to a few other Vegan websites and enjoyed looking at and finding yours. I had a hankering for some fat free ethiopian dishes so made a cabbage, potato dish and lentil dish to eat with enjera bread.
Andrea
Hello There,
I just found your recipes and am excited to try some of the fat free ones as I am currently on a no fat diet for a gallbladder flare up. I did want to ask if there is any substitute you would recommend for the walnuts as walnuts are not fat free and so I can't incorporate them in my diet. Thank you!
Andrea
Vaishali
I started to suggest flax meal, then realized you don't want any fat at all. In that case, just leave out the walnuts.
Usha
Good to hear that Lucy's doing much better !
The burgers look fabulous, would love to give this one a try....
HayMarket8
Those burgers look awesome! I just found your blog but I am on it now! New follower! 🙂
melekler korusun final
very nice recipe, thank you
Anonymous
Dear Vaishali
This recipe is great. I skipped all the seasoning and also besan, brown rice since I didn't have any. I replaced it with whole wheat flour. It made so many burgers and I still have the batter in the fridge. At least I don't have to worry about tomorrow's lunch and dinner 🙂
jodye
these burgers look and sound delicious! I'm already contemplating these for dinner tomorrow!
Veggie Belly
Very nice! Black beans are so perfect for burgers. I bet these were yummy and also filling. Do you think they can be grilled on a grill?
Daisy
Hi Vaishali,
I made these for my lunch yesterday. There were so good! When I read this post I thought this was a nice recipe to try, you just "throw everything in to the food processor" and it's done, sort of :). I didn't have black beans, so I used red beans and I was so surprised by their color after being cooked - they looked like real meat, actually my dad thought they were real meat and started to joke about it! I added a few drops of soy sauce, to balance the seasoning.
Glenda
Those Fat-free Spicy Black Bean Burgers are right up my alley!! Thanks for the seasoning ideas to spice mine up. Great photo!
Moondancer
Oh I love bean burgers; black bean burgers are a favorite in our household. This weekend we'll be grilling outside, and I already told my daughter I would be making her favorite Black Bean burgers.
Sanjeeta kk
Looks healthy and tempting to give a try.
Latha
Burger looks very yummy.
Mints!
Burger recipe is a keeper. Wondering if we can BBQ it? Must try once.
Ali | Soulful Body & Mind
This looks delicious. My family has never had black bean burgers since we've converted to veganism. This looks like something we will try. Thanks for posting.
Ali | Soulful Body & Mind
This looks delicious. My family has never had black bean burgers since we've converted to veganism. This looks like something we will try. Thanks for posting.
RV
Burgers can't be healthier than this with these many good ingredients. I am bookmarking this recipe.
Richa
i keep forgetting to try these burgers.. these will be great for my burger craving hubby... on some nice freshly baked bread!
Skay
So glad to hear about Lucy! I was wondering about her. And also happy to hear that Freddie is doing well.
This recipe is a keeper, Vaish! I have GOT to try this.
Cooking Blog Indexer
Wow..that's a very healthy burger...
Priya
Thats great to know Lucy is doing well now...Black bean burgers looks utterly delicious..
Divya Vikram
Great to hear Lucy is doing good! I have seen these burgers in many blogs. Need to get some black beans during my next grocery shopping.
Manasi
BIG hugs to Lucy and Freddie! muuaah!
The bean burgers are FAB! I have tasted the morning star frozen ones and felt their inadequacy in the taste dept. These, on the other hand... I MUST try! 🙂
Rikki Cupcake
these look over the top tasty!
Jessica @ Lima's Vegan Kitchen
So great, about your dog. It warms my heart to hear it. These burgers look great too!